Flush banded table top



1964 w. HENRIKSON ETAL 3,

FLUSH BANDED TABLE TOP Filed April 9, 1962 [ill ill Ill.

INVENTORS .Bz-or B; Henrik-Yon 59* Kenneth O. J'c'bzzeider WITNESS V BY JIM/t 8.3mm Y ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,151,713 FLUSH BANDED TABLE TOP Bror W. Henrikson and Kenneth 0. Schneider, Grand Rapids, Mich, assignors to American Seating Cornpany, Grand Rapids, Mich, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 185,938 7 Claims. (Cl. 18934) The present invention relates to a top construction for tables, desks and the like. The invention is in the nature of an improvement over the flush banded table top disclosed in Patent No. 2,952,496 issued September 13, 1960 to Eman Braal and Benjamin J. Oom and by them assigned to our assignee.

The top construction disclosed in the patent identified above has been used commercially for several years, and particularly in connection with table top panels of plastic laminate. Even a top panel of plastic laminate is subject to some dimensional instability due to temperature and humidity changes. It has been found in some instances that in tables constructed in accordance with the identified patent, the top panel would shrink away from the flush band around it, thus leaving a minute gap between the top panel and the aluminum banding. Such gaps are objectional, not only from an appearance standpoint but also because they collect foreign matter, such as food when the tables are used in restaurants, cafeterias, etc., and thus create an unhygienic condition. The present invention overcomes these objections by providing a flush banded table top in which the banding is flush with the top panel at all times.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a table top constructed according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional view of the same taken on line 22 of FIG- DRE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of the same taken on line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the same, looking up, taken on the line 44 of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a length of stock herein called the inner rim;

FIGURE 6 is a greatly enlarged vertical cross-section through the outer rim;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a length of extruded stock from which the outer rim is made; and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a length of completed outer rim stock.

Referring now in detail to these drawings the table top shown in FIGURES 1-4 generally comprises a top panel 10 which is desirably fabricated of laminated plastic material but which may be of any other suitable material such as plywood, an inner rim 11 preferably made of steel stock of required strength, and an outer rim 12 preferably fabricated of aluminum which possesses good structural and also decorative characteristics.

The top panel 10 has a first groove 13 in its peripheral edge intermediate the top and bottom surfaces of the panel and parallel to said top surface, and a second groove 14 in its bottom surface spaced slightly inwardly from and parallel to said peripheral edge of the top panel.

The inner rim 11 is of generally channel form, opening inwardly, and has an upstanding outer wall 15 the lower part of which is inclined downwardly-inwardly as indicated at 16. An upper flange 17 extends from the upper edge of the outer wall 15 inwardly beneath the marginal edge of the top panel 10 and is provided with spaced elongated apertures 18 therethrough which are preferably equidistant. A lower flange 19 extends directly inwardly from the lower edge of the inner rims outer wall 15. When formed into a rectangular frame for the support of a table top panel as seen in FIGURE 1, the inner rim 11 possesses great rigidity and provides the structural element to which legs, standards or other supporting structure (not shown) may be rigidly connected.

The edge molding or outer rim 12 has an upstanding outer wall 20 which in the completed table top abuts the outer wall 15 of the inner rim 11 and also abuts the peripheral edge of the top panel 10. The uppermost edge of the outer rims outer wall 20 is flush with the top panel 10, and a first continuous flange 21 extends inwardly from said outer wall 20 and into the first groove 13 in the top panels peripheral edge. This flange 21 fits snugly within the groove 13 and the inner surface 22 of the outer wall 20 which lies above the flange 21 is inclined downwardly-outwardly, all for the purpose of insuring flushness of the upper edge of the outer wall 20 with the top panel 10.

The outer rim 12 has a second continuous flange 23 which extends from the outer wall 20 inwardly between the upper flange 17 of the inner rim 11 and the bottom surface of the top panel 10. This second flange 23 has a continuous head 24 along its inner edge which extends upwardly into the second groove 14 in the bottom surface of the top panel 10.

The outer rim 12 is initially produced as an aluminum extrusion as seen in FIGURE 7, and has a continuous flange 25 depending from the flange 23. Subsequent to the extrusion of this outer rim 12, portions of this depending flange 25 are cut away so as to leave equidistantly spaced, downwardly extending fingers 25a adapted to register with the apertures 18 in the upper flange 17 of the inner rim 11.

After the top panel 10 has been cut to the desired size and shape and provided with the grooves 13 and 14, and after the inner rim 11 and outer rim 12 have been formed as above described and cut to proper lengths, the table top is assembled as follows. The outer rim 12 is first assembled to the peripheral edge of the top panel 10. This is accomplished by forcing the first continuous flange 21 on the outer rim into the first groove 13 of the top panel. During this operation the second continuous flange 23 and its bead 24 are deflected slightly as indicated by broken lines in FIGURE 6, the metal being very slightly springable and the bead 24 being rounded on its inner and upper surfaces to facilitate this operation. When the bead 24 snaps into the second groove 14 in the bottom surface of the top panel, the outer rim 12 is positively locked onto the top panel. The outer surface 26 (see FIGURE 6) of the continuous bead 24 is inclined downwardly-inwardly to insure continuous contact of the upper outer edge of the bead with the outer wall of groove 14. Also the lower marginal edge 27 of the outer wall 20 of the outer rim 12 is inclined inwardly prior to assembly of the parts to insure continuous contact of said lower marginal edge with the upstanding outer wall 15 of the inner rim 11.

The assembled top panel 10 and outer rim 12 are assembled to the inner rim 11 by setting them in place on the inner rim with the fingers 25a of the outer rim depending through the apertures 18 in the inner rim, and the fingers 25a are finally clinched inwardly as seen in FIG- URES 2, 3 and 4 to securely clamp the parts together.

It will be seen that with the new top construction, if the top panel 10 shrinks slightly, it cannot shrink away from the new flush banding but will instead simply contract the banding with it. Such contraction of the banding will be very slight but neverthless sufiicient to prevent any gap forming between the outer rim and the top panel.

3 While but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein shown and described it will be understood that numerous details thereof may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

e cl 1. A top construct-ion for a table or the like, comprising:

a top panel having a first groove in its peripheral edge intermediate the top and bottom surfaces of the panel and parallel to said top surface, and having a second groove in its bottom surface spaced slight- 1y inwardly from the parallel to said peripheral edge of the top panel; an inner rim having an upstanding outer wall and an upper flange extending from the upper edge of of its outer wall inwardly beneath the marginal edge of the top panel; an outer rim having an upstanding outer wall abutting the outer Wall of the inner rim and the peripheral edge of said top panel, said outerwall of the outer rim having its uppermost edge flush with the top surface of the top panel and having a first continuous flange extending inwardly into said firstgroove and fitting snugly therein, said outer rim having also a second continuous flange extending inwardly between the upper flange of the inner rim and the the bottom surface of the top panel, said second continuous flange having a continuous bead along its inner edge extending upwardly into said second groove in the bottom surface of the top panel; and means for securing said outer rim to said inner rim. 2. A top construction according to claim 1 in which the means for securing the outer rim to the inner rim comprise longitudinally spaced apertures in the inwardly extending upper flange of the inner rim, and

fingers depending from the second continuous flange on the outer rim through said apertures, said fingers having their lower end portions deformed to clamp the inner and outer rims together.

3. A top construction according to claim 1 in which the inner surface of the outer rim above the first continuous flange is inclined downwardly-outwardly to insure continuous contact of the upper inner edge of the outer rim with the upper outer edge of the top panel.

4. A top construction according to claim 1 in which the lower marginal edge of the outer wall of the outer rim is inclined inwardly prior to assembly of the parts to insure continuous contact of said lower marginal edge with the upstanding outer wall of the inner rim.

5. A top construction according to claim 1 in which the second continuous flange on the outer rim is slightly springable relative to the outer wall of the outer rim to permit application of the outer rim to the top panel.

6. A top construction according to claim 5 in which the inner and upper surfaces of the continuous bead on the second flange of the outer rim are rounded to facilitate application of the outer rim to the top panel.

7. A top construction according to claim 5 in which the outer surface of the continuous bead on the second flange of'the outer rim is inclined downwardly-inwardly to insure contact of the upper outer edge of said head with the outer wall of the second groove in the bottom surface of the top panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,260,934 Corduanet al. Oct. 28, 1941 2,952,496 Braal et a1. Sept. 13, 1960 

1. A TOP CONSTRUCTION FOR A TABLE OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING: A TOP PANEL HAVING A FIRST GROOVE IN ITS PERIPHERAL EDGE INTERMEDIATE THE TOP AND BOTTOM SURFACES OF THE PANEL AND PARALLEL TO SAID TOP SURFACE, AND HAVING A SECOND GROOVE IN ITS BOTTOM SURFACE SPACED SLIGHTLY INWARDLY FROM THE PARALLEL TO SAID PERIPHERAL EDGE OF THE TOP PANEL; AN INNER RIM HAVING AN UPSTANDING OUTER WALL AND AN UPPER FLANGE EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER EDGE OF OF ITS OUTER WALL INWARDLY BENEATH THE MARGINAL EDGE OF THE TOP PANEL; AN OUTER RIM HAVING AN UPSTANDING OUTER WALL ABUTTING THE OUTER WALL OF THE INNER RIM AND THE PERIPHERAL EDGE OF SAID TOP PANEL, SAID OUTER WALL OF THE OUTER RIM HAV- 